OK you’ve got a website up and running. You’re working on your editorial calendar for your blog and you’ve even managed to set-up a lead magnet on your site to capture emails. You’re ready to go! Where’s the traffic?

Well that’s where your social media comes into play. What? Social media? Isn’t that what SEO is for? Nope! It’s social. Yeah that’s right, I’m going to go out on a limb here and share a dirty little secret. Social media and social search have all but replaced SEO (aka search engine optimization).

With the exception of mobile, SEO has basically become a numbers game for large companies with deep pockets – for the little guy, it’s all about social. It’s got fantastic reach, built-in versatility and is far more cost effective than traditional advertising.

But none of it will work without a strategy. You’ve got to have a strategy in place or the social media demons will run you and your team into the ground. Not sure how to approach this for your business? No problem!

Are you strapped for cash and don’t want to hire a social media manager for fear of getting fleeced? No problem! Why?

Because the boys at Sprout Social have done a slammin’ job of giving you 7 solid strategies for using social media in your small business. These are things that you can start doing today.

This is one post you should bookmark, share with your peeps and refer back to whenever you start to ask yourself why you’re paying for a social media manager in the first place.

I’ll admit putting together & maintaining a social media strategy often feels like your training for a marathon but once you learn how cost effective it is and why you’re doing it in the first place – you’ll do whatever it takes to get it done.

Check out Alex York’s post for Sprout Social here.

Question: What do you use social media for in your business? Share comments and questions below.

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Note: This post updated on April 25, 2020.